Dawgman Radio: A Washington Huskies athletics podcast

There's been a lot of receiver talk this fall, and it sounds like there's been plenty of good reasons why. On Tuesday, the media spoke with Washington Receivers Coach Junior Adams, as well as junior receiver Terrell Bynum.

Coach Adams and Bynum didn't give up much on how the role of the receivers has changed in John Donovan's new pro-style attack, but they did talk about being multiple like they were last year under Bush Hamdan, but clearly with some wrinkles involved.

They also talked about placing emphasis on being a bigger receivers room than last year, which means also being more physical; not only when it comes to blocking downfield, but also at the point of attack and trying to get off the line of scrimmage.

There has also been a lot of talk about the true freshmen who have come in and hit the ground running. Jalen McMillan, Rome Odunze, and Sawyer Racanelli have all received praise this fall at one time or another by the coaches or their teammates, and both Adams and Bynum talked more about what has prepared those guys to play right away and what they need to do to take their next steps.

Bynum was asked about being one of the new leaders of the receivers room, what he learned from players last year like seniors Aaron Fuller and Andre Baccellia, as well as what he's seen when watching film of players like Cooper Kupp.

Last, but definitely not least, the media spoke with junior placekicker Peyton Henry, who answered questions about his physical and mental development as UW's lead kicker, being in a position battle with another scholarship placekicker in Tim Horn, as well as how made kicks and missed kicks provide fuel and motivation for him as he continues to hone in on his craft.

Even with the loss of his most experienced defensive lineman, Ikaika Malloe is still very excited about his room. Why is that? He says it's a hungry group of players who is always looking to learn. When you combine those traits with the talented on hand, you have a recipe for success.

On Sunday, Malloe met with the media and talked about some of his youngsters, but the two he focused on were Jacob Bandes and Faatui Tuitele, two heralded recruits from their 2019 recruiting class who each saw playing time last season, but not enough to burn their redshirt seasons.

To say he's excited about their future would be an understatement, but he realizes they are young and will still make a lot of freshman mistakes. That's why he's happy to have Josiah Bronson, Tuli Letuligasenoa and Sam Taimani returning.

Each of those three players brings a different skill-set to the unit with Bronson adding the experience while the latter two are being counted on as the emotional leaders of the group.

In addition to the media's conversation with Malloe, sophomore corner Trent McDuffie got his first chance to sit down with the media since he arrived on campus in the summer of 2019 and third-year linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio who talked about what it was like to receive his scholarship from the school in January and what his offseason has been like as he prepares to start from the jump once games get going next month.

To listen to the full 26-minute podcast, click on the audio link below.

The guys from Dawgman.com - Kim Grinolds, Chris Fetters, and Scott Eklund - go through each position group to recap what the coaches and players have talked about since the media are only allowed 20 minutes per week to watch the team and gather video and photos. And there has been a lot to chew on.

The media has spoken this week to UW Head Coach Jimmy Lake, new offensive coordinator John Donovan, defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, offensive line coach Scott Huff, and linebackers coach/special teams coordinator Bob Gregory. They also spoke with Luke Wattenberg, Sean McGrew, Josiah Bronson, Ryan Bowman, Keith Taylor, and Elijah Molden.

So what did the Dawgman guys get out of those conversations, as well as the two 20-minute sessions they've seen of the team since a week ago Friday? Plenty. There's certainly a lot to suss out when it comes to the four-man quarterback battle (Jacob Sirmon, Dylan Morris, Ethan Garbers, and Kevin Thomson), as well as how a bigger running back stable will impact Donovan's attempts to create an aggressive, downhill rush game.

And what about the freshman receivers? Everyone has been bigging up Jalen McMillan, Rome Odunze, and Sawyer Racanelli. And with the Huskies awarding Jack Westover with a scholarship, that means UW now has six tight ends with rides (Westover, Cade Otton, Devin Culp, Mark Redman, Mason West, and Jack Yary). And that's not even counting Jacob Kizer, who has opted out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns. How do they plan to use them all?

There's also plenty of talk about the offensive line. UW's most experienced linemen are moving positions (Luke Wattenberg to center and Jaxson Kirkland to left tackle), and their backups are HUGE. If you take the current official roster as the gospel, there are SEVEN offensive linemen at 3 ...

Washington head coach Jimmy Lake sat down to talk with the media following practice on Friday. Here's what he had to say, including questions on Josiah Bronson, Kevin Thomson, Cameron Davis, Rome Odunze, Jacob Sirmon, his relationship with Pete Kwiatkowski, the battle to take Joe Tryon's spot as and edge-rusher, one that includes Laiatu Latu, and more.

With the exception of the inside linebackers, who lost two senior starters but retained one in Edefuan Ulofoshio, no position group has dealt with more upheaval than the Washington offensive line.

But a bit of that has been by design.

Yes, they lost four seniors that had at least one start in 2019: Trey Adams, Nick Harris, Jared Hilbers, and Henry Roberts. But they also have back four offensive linemen with at least one start in 2019: Luke Wattenberg, Jaxson Kirkland, Henry Bainivalu, and Matteo Mele.

Wattenberg's starts were at left guard, while Kirkland's were at right guard. So you've got those positions settled, right?

No. Wattenberg has been taking all his reps at center, while Kirkland has made the ambitious move from right guard to left tackle, losing 25 pounds along the way.

And when asked Thursday to name his top-10 OL right now in the room, UW Offensive Line Coach Scott Huff rattled them off: Jaxson Kirkland, Luke Wattenberg, Henry Bainivalu, Ulumoo (M.J.) Ale, Victor Curne, Troy Fautanu, Matteo Mele, Nate Kalepo, Corey Luciano and Julius Buelow.

So he has a host of talented players to work with, but less than three weeks to put together a cohesive unit capable of going on the road and beating Cal on November 7. The Huskies were able to put full pads on just two days ago.

How is Huff going to get it done? In Thursday's media call, he talked about the position moves for Wattenberg and Kirkland, the push toward finding that best five or seven linemen he can count on for the shortened 2020 season, as well as how some of the first-year players have shown up, specifically players like Gaard Memmelaar and Roger Rosengarten.

For Wattenberg's part, he thinks Rosengarten looks the part of a young Trey Adams out at left tackle. The media were able to ask Luke about his move to center, ironically replacing his old UW teammate and former high school teammate Harris, what he loves about the move, and how he was able to stay fit and fighting despite the craziness of the coronavirus pandemic.

The media also spoke with senior running back Sean McGrew

According to Bob Gregory, the Washington linebackers struggled on Wednesday, the first day the team was able to go in full pads after completing their acclimatization days. Does that mean the whole defense struggled?

Obviously it's hard to know without being there, but Gregory did tell the media on hand during their post-practice Zoom call that there's still plenty of reasons to be optimistic if you're a Washington Football fan, but they have work to do to get to where they are ready to go versus California on November 7.

Gregory took questions about the various linebackers expected to step up with the graduations of Kyler Manu and Brandon Wellington, notably Edefuan Ulofoshio, Jackson Sirmon, and MJ Tafisi, as well as a host of redshirt freshmen.

He also took some special teams questions, including who is standing out in the battle to find lead returners, as well as how freshman Jaden Green is fitting in as the starting long snapper.

Senior cornerback Keith Taylor also took questions about the secondary, the four freshman scholarship defensive backs - Jacobe Covington, James Smith, Elijah Jackson, Makell Esteen - as well as the return of Elijah Molden and the receivers that are standing out through the first five days of camp.

Another senior - defensive lineman Josiah Bronson - has been thrust into the spotlight as the lone senior now that Levi Onwuzurike has opted to turn pro. He talked about the leadership role he's taken on board, as well as how the younger defensive linemen are aware of the need to also step up and how eager they are to prove themselves.

He also talked about some unique and creative workout routines he implemented because of the coronavirus pandemic, including pulling a page out of the Trey Adams playbook and pushing a truck.

As of now, John Donovan has ruled no one out. And although he doesn't want to have to wait until game week to announce a starting quarterback, he hasn't ruled out the idea of using more than one signal caller, if necessary.

This is the reality of Washington's current quarterback battle, and the first-year offensive coordinator spoke to the media Tuesday a day ahead of when the pads could officially pop.

In other words, he hasn't really seen what any of the four scholarship quarterbacks can do when the bullets are actually flying, so to speak. And they wouldn't be allowed to go live in any event. But when the team can finally go full pads, that's when you know the speed of the game will go up too, as will the stakes.

Donovan talked about the four QBs - Jacob Sirmon, Dylan Morris, Ethan Garbers, and Kevin Thomson - what he's looking for in the position battle, and what it's going to take for one or more of them to separate themselves from the pack.

He also talked about the movement along the offensive line, utilizing the running backs in the pass game like they did at Jacksonville last season, and more.

The media also caught up with junior offensive lineman Jaxson Kirkland, who confirmed his move to left tackle, as well as his 30-pound weight loss, and senior tight end Cade Otton, who spoke on the challenges he faces as he takes on even more of a leadership role within his room now that the other senior TE - Jacob Kizer - has opted out of the season due to COVID-19 concerns.

On Sunday, it was the defense's turn to stand in front of the media firing line via Zoom, so Washington Defensive Coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, senior OLB/DE Ryan Bowman, and senior defensive back Elijah Molden each took their spot after day three of fall camp to answer questions.

Kwiatkowski took questions on individual players like Bowman and true freshman Jordan Lolohea, as well as how the UW staff was able to maximize their time off the field when they weren't allowed to have spring football due to the coronavirus pandemic. He also talked about his relationship with first-year head coach Jimmy Lake, one that goes as far back as Jimmy's playing days at Eastern Washington in the late '90s, as well as how surprised he was that Chris Petersen stepped down as UW's Head Coach after last year's Apple Cup win.

Next, it was Bowman, and the senior talked about life after losing Joe Tryon as their bookend outside linebacker and what that meant for him in terms of having to step up as the sole senior leader of the room, as well as the different roles and responsibilities the two outside linebackers have in Washington's nickel base scheme.

Last, but certainly not least, was Molden, who was asked about his own mentoring responsibilities, how that has been passed down to him from former UW nickel Myles Bryant, and how he's started that same process with another nickel, true freshman walk-on Kasen Kinchen. He also broke down a few of the reasons why the Huskies have been historically difficult to score on during his time at Montlake, and also corrects the record on Dominique Hampton's off-season weight gain.

Friday was the first day the Washington Huskies were able to take part in what most would accurately describe as an actual practice and not something that more closely resembled a smaller group activity.

They were able to line up, run plays, and basically do things you might see a football team do on Saturdays in front of a large crowd of fans.

But now we're talking about football in the time of COVID-19. It means coming into the football facility at Montlake wearing a mask at all times, employing social distancing. You come in and get a swab done as part of each Pac-12 team's coronavirus testing protocol. Some days you get tested twice.

First-year Washington Head Coach Jimmy Lake sounded every bit the seasoned vet Friday, refusing to get lured into questions about his quarterback depth chart or off-season injuries. In that way, he sounded remarkably similar to his predecessor, Chris Petersen.

But he did drop the news that senior tight end Jacob Kizer and senior defensive back Isaiah Gilchrist have opted out of playing in 2020 due to COVID concerns, so they will have the option of coming back in 2021 if they choose to.

Lake also talked about certain players and their off-season weight changes, especially when it came to a defensive back like Dominique Hampton, who is now listed at 220 pounds, as well as newcomers that popped out to him the first day on both sides of the ball, among a number of other topics.

Two of Dawgman.com's interns, Intern Emeritus Luke Mounger and current intern Jack McCauley, are itching to get the 2020 Washington Football season underway! So what better way to do that than to put together a podcast of their thoughts heading into the season.

They talk about the new schedule and go through it game-by-game, including some in-depth talk on Washington's first opponent - a trip to the Bay Area to face the California Golden Bears, and how things look for the Huskies if they were able to get past the Bears. Don't sleep on their breakdown of the Oregon Ducks! 

Then they move to their takes on the team itself, including the position battles they're excited to watch. They start with the offensive line, then move to the linebackers and the defensive line, and finish it up with the defensive backs and then finish up with their opinions on who will start at quarterback. Listen for Jack's hot take; it's not to be missed!

And at the end Luke and Jack each pick one player they are super-excited to see what they're going to do this fall. They both go offense: Jack picks a running back and Luke picks a tight end.